Tim Roca

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Mundell. I rise in support of the petition, and more broadly in support of the rights and dignity of transgender people in the UK. Let us be clear: we are debating not just a petition, but people’s lives. In Macclesfield, we have a fantastic LGBTQ+ community, where people show solidarity with each other, including recently through Stride for Pride, which was run by the owners of Yas Bean. Solidarity is incredibly important; the LGBTQ+ community hangs on a history of solidarity with each other, and the need for it has never been clearer than in recent years, with a surge in the number of recorded transphobic hate crimes. According to Home Office data, such crimes have more than doubled since 2016. That is not a culture war; it is real harm. It is fear, isolation and violence, felt by people who are simply trying to live as themselves. While that is happening, our international standing in LGBTQ+ rights is falling. As Members have noted, this year the UK dropped even further down the ILGA-Europe rainbow map, which ranks countries by their equality laws. In 2015, we were first—what an incredible thing to be proud of. Last year we dropped to 16th; as of a few days ago, we are 22nd. We have fallen behind countries we once led, and we have not gone backwards by accident. I fear it is because our political will has begun to fade.